Brushes and dust pans have been used in house cleaning operations since time immemorial. More recently, with the advent of mouldable plastics material, the handle of the dust pan has included a recess which may be shaped to receive the handle of a brush in a snap fit arrangement in order that the two can be readily stored together.
The advantage of being able to store the two together as a single unit is that the user does not need to go searching for the individual components and there is less likelihood of the two being separated and lost.
Generally speaking, it is preferred that the handle of the brush be constructed in such a way as to ensure that the user does not scrape his or her knuckles against a surface to be brushed. This can be achieved by having a handle which is directed at an angle pointing the brush handle upwards when the brush bristles are in contact with the surface being swept. Alternatively, the handle may be bent so that it is higher than the portion of the brush holding the bristles when the brush is used for sweeping.
Whilst brushes of this type on their own and in combination with dust pans of the aforesaid type are useful and have found common acceptance, they are not necessarily suitable for situations where surfaces requiring cleaning are located in areas such as the laundry or bathroom. As bristles of brushes are unsuitable for brushing away water, the user must use an alternative utensil such as a squeegee blade or mop to clean areas covered with spilled liquid.
In order to reduce the number of utensils required by a user, it would be desirable to provide a brush construction which can perform the sweeping function normally performed by the bristles of a brush and can also be used as a squeegee blade when necessary. Furthermore, it is preferable, that such a utensil, be capable of snap fitting in the handle of a dust pan with the construction of the brush handle being such as to allow the knuckles of a user to be held at a position higher from a surface being brushed or cleaned than the portion of the brush fitted with the bristles or squeegee blade.